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ct scan cystoscopy

Hi just had a ct scan with contrast of abdomen and pelvis and I have a cystoscopy coming up why would the ct scan come first and what would the doctors be looking for with these tests and how long before my result

If you see my Newbie post, you will read that I had scans and a later cystoscopy, after a bleeding prostate. The scans found cancer in my pancreas and spleen, for which I had successful chemotherapy. The cystoscopy comes after the scans, in order to ensure that you do not have other problems, which are not necessarily there but which may be more important. At least, that was the advice and information I received. Finding the cancers early, saved my life I believe. Good luck!

Sorry to be late responding. I got my results very soon, as much as I recall within 2 weeks from the scans in January 2018. I had 3 appointments at Castle Hill Hull within a month, followed by a Pre-op and then 4 April I had my op. Chemo followed in May, until November. The Cystoscopy was delayed until I recovered from Chemo, because the 3 cancers they found were obviously more important, and the prostate had settled down. It came back bleeding again after I recovered. I had ultrasound followed by the cystoscopy on the same day. I am currently clear of cancer, and waiting for the last PSA to give me a decision on the prostate, which is enlarged but giving no trouble, apart from 2 visits per night to the loo! At least I wake up in time, the alternative is not good. :)

I found it best to go with the flow, but ask questions of the medical teams at every opportunity. They are the experts after all, and I used my daft sense of humour to help me through it. It does no good to worry about what might happen: I concentrated upon each day and each medical event at a time. It is not necessarily cancer and not necessarily malignant. Listen carefully to all the medical people, especially the consultant. I went in to each appointment accompanied by my wife, it's good if there is someone else to listen and remember stuff.

I appreciate it can be an anxious time waiting for tests and results. Often when a doctor orders tests, you get them as soon as there’s an available time slot. So, the order in which these come doesn’t necessarily give any more information about what’s going on. It’s really the results that provide the most important information.

I can see you’ve been getting support from other members of our Online Community and you’d asked about how long the wait is for a CT scan result. This can vary slightly from one hospital to another but you wouldn’t usually be expected to wait any more than two weeks.

It’s difficult for us to say what the doctors would be looking for but if it’d help to have a deeper chat with us about things then you can call and speak with a nurse on our Macmillan Support Line.

I’m having my first one in a couple of weeks 3rd April the doctor said he wants to look inside my bladder as he suspects that I have a sensitive bladder, so what will the camera in my bladder be looking for?

Hi Mkcaffrey86 . I am not a nurse, but a bladder patient. A cystoscopy is a standard procedure. I have had several. The camera is inserted under local anaesthetic and you can see everything on the monitor. It is painless, but slightly uncomfortable. They will be looking for any abnormalities. The bladder wall should be a nice pale pink colour with lots of tiny veins. Anything unusual will be pointed out to you. If you click on the link in my above post, it will take you to the bladder group. Best wishes.

Thanks for getting back in touch. As Rily said they will be looking for any abnormalities within the bladder. Although a cystoscopy is one of the main tests for bladder cancer it can also pick up lots of other issues with the bladder or urethra. They will be looking for anything that doesn’t look like normal bladder tissue. This could be redness, inflammation, growths and stones.

As Rily said it shouldn’t be painful but it can be uncomfortable. The cystoscopy is usually completed within 5-10 minutes. You should then be given information around when and how you will be told your results from the scope plus any biopsies that they may have taken.

I hope that answers your question. If you would like to talk this through, then you are welcome to give the nurses a call on the support line.